The Chocolate Festival, presented by Dallas Chocolate.org, is coming to North Texas September 7th through the 9th!

This year’s festival not only celebrates chocolate, it explores the “Future of Chocolate.”  The three-day festival brings in over 70 chocolate makers and chocolatiers from around the world and locally.

It’s probably not coincidence that local artist, Emily Mantooth is the director of the festival. She says modestly, “I don’t so much make anything but bring together a world-renowned group of chocolate artisans for three days of fun. My business partner, Sander Wolf, and I spend the year looking for the most interesting and delicious chocolate makers and chocolatiers from all over the world. We bring them to Dallas to share their talents to help to educate local chocolate lovers about the complexity that is artisan chocolate.”

Event spoiler: Part of the Future of Chocolate is Craft Chocolate. Collin County chocolate maker, Troy Easton of Sublime Chocolate describes craft chocolate as creating chocolate from the cacao, or cocoa beans that grow on trees are grown within 20 degrees of the earth’s Equator.

Troy explains the process, “The cocoa beans are harvested from pods then fermented for up to seven days, then dried. The beans are then shipped to us and we sort them to make sure we use the best of the shipment and that there are no foreign objects that make it into our process. We then roast the beans at very low temperatures, anywhere between 225 degrees to 350 degrees. These temperatures are dependent upon the bean being roasted and their flavor profile. After a cooling period, we crack and winnow the beans in order to separate them from their outer shell or husk. Once the beans are winnowed, they break down into nibs.  We grind these nibs into cocoa liquor.

Troy continues, “At Sublime Chocolate, we refine and conch the nibs during the same process.  This can take up to 72 hours depending upon the flavor development we are looking for. Refining is basically crushing the bean down to a certain particle size…usually around 20-30 microns.  Essentially, the mouth feel you should get, at this point, is very smooth. Conching is a process which helps to develop taste, smell and texture. Then, we let the untempered chocolate cool and harden before storing it for a few weeks to keep developing flavor. Finally, we temper the chocolate, then poor it into molds.”

At the Chocolate Festival, you’ll learn why the finished product is worth all this time and effort! You’ll learn about, taste, and experience the artistry and craftsmanship of quality chocolate!

The Chocolate Festival includes a Friday night VIP Party and Saturday’s family-friendly expo offering samples, chocolate shopping ops, demonstrations, and classes at Fashion Institute Gallery in Dallas.

Sunday’s hands-on workshops, including a Chocolate Tasting class and a Chocolate Making workshop, will be at held at Whole Foods Market on Preston Forest Shopping Center.

Visit Dallas Chocolate Organization for details:

Fashion Industry Gallery 
1807 Ross Avenue, Suite 250
Dallas, TX 75201 

and Whole Foods Market at Preston Forest Shopping Center

Admission
$35 for adults. $5 for children 10 and under